Department for Transport

Speed Limits

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to encourage local authorities to make greater use of part-time 20mph zones that are in force during times of greater need and not on a 24 hour basis; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Traffic authorities have powers to introduce 20 mph zones or speed limits that apply only at certain times of day. The Department issued revised guidance in January 2013 aimed mainly at local traffic authorities who are responsible for setting speed limits on local roads. It has been designed to help explain to everyone why and how local speed limits are determined. This guidance was revised following full public consultation in Summer 2012. The guidance is available online on GOV.UK

M62

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the M62 between East Yorkshire and Leeds to be subject to no roadworks, lane closures and temporary speed restrictions; and if he will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes: To keep the strategic road network in a safe and serviceable condition, the Highways Agency conducts a rolling programme of planned safety, improvement and renewal schemes. Between J29 and J38 of the M62 there are 167 such schemes in current plans, but the majority of these are designed to have minimal impact on the road user and will generally take place overnight. It is not possible to say how many of these schemes will require full time lane closures, narrow lanes or speed restrictions as a majority of them are still at the preliminary design stage. Lane or speed restrictions may also be required in the future in the event of unplanned maintenance or emergency repairs. There are currently no plans for a major upgrade of this section of the M62 which would involve long term restrictions similar to those required for the recent upgrade to smart motorway of the M62 J25-30.

Roads: Animals

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending contracts with Highways Agency's contractors to include (a) the compulsory scanning of all domestic animals for micro-chip identification, (b) recording pet identifications and (c) contacting the owners of the pet upon the death of a domestic animal on the road network.

Mr John Hayes: The Highways Agency is currently assessing the potential merits of amending contracts to understand the implications of including mandatory identification and recording of domestic animals found on the strategic road network, including contacting pet owners where possible and advising relevant registration organisations.

Rescue Services: Whitehaven

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the criteria were for the relocation of Whitehaven Coastguard headquarters to the inland Sneckyeat Industrial Estate.

Mr John Hayes: The primary criteria considered when relocating the Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team was Her Majesty’s Coastguard’s ability to maintain effective and appropriate responses to incidents. Response times from this new base to incidents will meet the current service standard and are comparable with responses times from the existing base; for some locations the response times will be improved. Additionally the new site provides: · more space for the additional full-time Coastguard Officers that will be supporting the Coastguard Rescue Teams in the local area;· appropriate working environment for full-time officers; and· improved facilities for maintaining rescue equipment.

Home Office

Firearms: Licensing

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal firearms were confiscated by police forces in each of the last five years.

Lynne Featherstone: The National Ballistic Intelligence Service (NABIS) is the national body responsible for collating and analysing data on the illegal use of firearms. The Home Office does not maintain records of firearms seized by police forces in England and Wales.

Safety Deposit Boxes

Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of safety deposit boxes across the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with (a) banks, (b) solicitors and (c) other providers on the availability of safety deposit boxes across the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with suppliers of safety deposit facilities on ensuring that the annual cost of hiring and using such facilities is kept at a reasonable level; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office does not have an estimate of the numbers of safety deposit boxes available across the United Kingdom, and we have not had any discussions on this matter. However, the Crime Prevention Panel, which is chaired by myself and supported by Home Office officials, has been looking at the safe storage of gold jewellery and other valuable items, both in people’s homes and in external storage facilities.

Radicalism

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which Minister in her Department has lead responsibility for overseeing the changes to the Prevent programme announced in November 2014.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training her Department plans to provide to (a) teachers and (b) headteachers to assist them to carry out the obligations placed on them by the provisions of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 03 February 2015



As the Minister for Security and Immigration, I have lead responsibility for overseeing the changes to the Prevent programme.A training package to raise awareness of Prevent (WRAP) has been provided to public sector workers including teachers and headteachers and others in the community since 2007. Since the revised Prevent Strategy was launched in 2011, over 130,000 people have attended WRAP training sessions. Training is delivered by accredited trainers from across the public sector including staff from within the education sector, Local Authorities, and the Police. WRAP is designed to help identify when people may be vulnerable to radicalisation, how to raise concerns and what proportionate responses should be taken. This training package will support those carrying out their obligations under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill.

Domestic Violence

Mr Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of domestic violence were reported to the police in the last three years; and in how many of those cases there was a complaint of coercive control.

Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Domestic Violence

Mr Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research her Department has (a) conducted and (b) commissioned into the incidence of coercive control in domestic violence complaints.

Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Primates: Imports

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-human primates, of what species and from what country of origin, were imported into the UK for the purposes of scientific research in 2014; and how many of those were (a) wild-caught, (b) captive born or F1 generation and (c) captive bred.

Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office does not hold the information asked for. Since 1 January 2013 when the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 was amended to transpose European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes there has been no requirement for users of non-human primates acquired from overseas breeding centres to seek permission in advance from the Home Office for their acquisition for use in regulated procedures.We have emphasised to those UK users who acquire non-human primates that they are responsible for ensuring that the breeders and suppliers they deal with have proper controls and processes in place. In order to be assured that these animals are of appropriate quality for the work authorised on their project licences, they need to be confident of high standards of care and welfare.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Indonesia

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Indonesian counterpart on the use of the death penalty for EU citizens convicted of drug-related offences.

Mr Hugo Swire: UK policy is to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances. Ministers and senior officials regularly raise our opposition to the death penalty with the Indonesians. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) visited Indonesia on 4 February and raised the issue with his counterpart then.

Advertising

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department's advertising budget was in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have a dedicated advertising budget. Budgets are delegated to Posts across the world and departments in London and it would not be possible to aggregate any spending without incurring disproportionate cost.

Visits Abroad

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, who, other than Ministers of the Crown and members of the Diplomatic Service, has been sent from the UK to represent the Government at inaugurations of foreign Heads of State and government since May 2010; and what the cost was of that representation in each such case.

Mr David Lidington: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 January 2015 (PQ 219962) given by The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire).

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) UK and (b) locally-engaged personnel are working for the UK Government in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The safety and security of our staff overseas is our priority. I should like to assure the right hon. Member that due to the fluid political and security situation in Yemen we regularly review our staffing levels. But for security reasons we do not comment on staff numbers.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of British passport holders in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: 114 British nationals have contacted the Embassy to inform us that they are in Yemen, but there may also be other British Nationals in Yemen who have not done so. Since March 2011 we have consistently advised against all travel to Yemen and that any British Nationals in Yemen should leave. Our travel advice is clear that the British Government will not be able to evacuate British nationals if they remain in Yemen against this advice.

Saudi Arabia

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to seek lifting the travel ban on Samar Badawi, the wife of Saudi activist Waleed Abulkhair.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We maintain a regular dialogue with the Saudi authorities on a range of human rights issues. While our Embassy officials in Riyadh have had some contact with human rights defenders, it is often the view of defenders that involvement with foreign representatives and organisations can make their work harder.

Saudi Arabia

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The British Government’s position on human rights is a matter of public record. Saudi Arabia remains a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) country of concern because of the human rights situation in the country, particularly the use of the death penalty, access to justice, women’s rights, restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion or belief. The UK condemns the use of torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. We regularly make our views known including through the UN Universal Periodic Review process and the FCO’s annual Human Rights and Democracy Report. We maintain a regular dialogue with the Saudi Arabian authorities on a range of human rights issues.

Saudi Arabia

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the government of Saudi Arabia in support of the release of Waleed Abulkhair from prison in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of the case of Walid abu Al-Khair and follow it closely. We will continue to maintain a regular dialogue with the Saudi authorities on a range of human rights issues, including of human rights defenders. While our Embassy officials in Riyadh have had some contact with human rights defenders, it is often the view of defenders that involvement with foreign representatives and organisations can make their task of pressing for reform harder.

Saudi Arabia

Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2015, Official Report, column 79, whether he met the Saudi Arabia Deputy Foreign Minister; and with whom he has discussed the case of Raif Badawi.

Mr Philip Hammond: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 05 February 2015.The correct answer should have been:

Due to the late King’s ill health at the time, the Deputy Vice Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia did not attend the Counter ISIL meeting in London as had been planned. Instead, I raised the case of Raif Badawi with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to London, as the most senior member of the Saudi delegation, at the inaugural meeting of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, on 22 January.

Mr Philip Hammond: Due to the late King’s ill health at the time, the Deputy Vice Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia did not attend the Counter ISIL meeting in London as had been planned. Instead, I raised the case of Raif Badawi with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to London, as the most senior member of the Saudi delegation, at the inaugural meeting of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, on 22 January.

British Council

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to note 19 on page 106 of the British Council's Annual Report, 2013-14, what the reasons were for the losses and special payments.

Mr Hugo Swire: As stated in the British Council's Annual Report, during the year ended 31 March 2014, the British Council made no payments that fall within the category of special payments as defined in Managing Public Money. The losses referenced in the Annual Report fall into three major categories:1) £1.9m worth of claims waived or abandoned. This included a write off of £1.7m worth of fees for work done in 2011-12. These fees were owed by education institutions in a country where the deteriorating political and security situation meant they are not likely to be recoverable in the foreseeable future. £0.4m of this was provided for in the year to March 2013 and only the balance was charged in the year ended March 2014. The debt was part of the Council’s full cost recovery work and no grant-in-aid funds were involved. Approval was sought from HMT and granted. 2) £540k worth of fruitless payments. This included:a) £402k (122 cases) of historic contract balances from 2007 to 2010 in relation to funds granted to beneficiaries under the Youth in Action agreement, which were deemed ineligible for reimbursements to the British Council by the European Union. These were provided for in the year to 31 March 2013.b) £137k in relation to a final court judgement of damages due from a long running court case in the UAE about a failed premises project that concluded in January 2014. 3) £170k worth of cash losses. This included net losses from frauds in Kenya and Senegal disclosed in the Governance Statement on page 54 of the Annual Report.

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has allocated to the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The new Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) will replace the Conflict Pool in April 2015. The Conflict Pool received an allocation from the Treasury of £683m in 2014/15 - no allocation was made to the CSSF. The CSSF allocation from the Treasury for 2015/16 will be £1033m. Departmental allocations are being finalised and Parliament will be informed in due course.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Wormwood Scrubs Prison

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the budget of the education department for HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs was in each year from 2010.

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many inmates were enrolled in teaching or training in the art, design and media department in HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs when it was closed down.

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what changes there have been to the budget of the education department at HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs since January 2014.

Nick Boles: Learning and skills at HMP Wormwood Scrubs has been delivered by a number of providers, through contracts let by the Skills Funding Agency, during this period. For the academic years 2010/11 and 2011/12, the Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) contract for London was held by Kensington and Chelsea College. For the academic years 2012/13, 2013/14 and the first part of 2014/15, the OLASS contract was held by A4e Ltd. From 2 February 2015, The Manchester College has held the OLASS contract for London.The Skills Funding Agency introduced funding changes that base payment to providers on learner achievement when new prison education contracts (OLASS4) commenced in August 2012. Prior to this, providers were paid on the basis of the teaching hours they were programmed to deliver. Direct comparisons between OLASS funding prior to the 2012/13 academic year and now cannot be made.The table below sets out OLASS initial contract values for HMP Wormwood Scrubs from the 2012/13 academic year. Academic YearOLASS initial contract values for HMP Wormwood Scrubs2012/13£1,112,6002013/14£1,581,0002014/15£1,360,600 Notes: 1) Figures rounded to nearest 000s 2) In 2012/13 the Agency did not include details of prison level allocations within its contract documentation. The figure given is representative of the proportion of funding available for use at the prison for adult OLASS programme. 3) In 2013/14 the Agency included details of prison level allocations within its contract documentation. This sets out the value expected to be used for delivery of adult OLASS programme at the prison. 4) In 2014/15 the Agency has held 2 contracts for delivery of adult OLASS. The first contract was for the period 1 August 2014 to 31 January 2015. The second is for the period 1 February 2015 to 31 July 2015. The figure given is for the adult OLASS programme elements of these contracts for use at the prison.   The overall value of the OLASS contract for HMP Wormwood Scrubs changed, during the 2013/14 academic year and after January 2014, as set out in the table below. Initial contract for 2013/14 for HMP Wormwood Scrubs£1,581,000Variation 1£1,852,000Variation 2£979,000 Notes: 1) Figures rounded to nearest 000s   Art, Design and Media Studies were taught at HMP Wormwood Scrubs as part of the OLASS learning offer during the first part of the 1014/15 academic year: there was no art, design and media department at the prison. Following an Ofsted inspection and a curriculum review, a local decision was taken to withdraw provision for art, design and media studies and to focus delivery more on maths and English. We do not hold prison-level learner enrolment information centrally.

Citizens' Advice Bureaux

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information his Department holds on the number of people advised by Citizens Advice Bureaux in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) London, (d) Yorkshire, (e) Kirklees local authority area and (f) Huddersfield constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Jo Swinson: The Department does not hold this information. Citizens Advice, the umbrella organisation for the bureaux service across England and Wales has not been able to provide reliable data on the number of unique clients advised over the past 10 years. Accurate electronic recording of data across the bureaux network has only been possible in the last 4 years, prior to which statistics were collected across the network either manually or in a variety of different data systems.   Citizens Advice has been able to provide data over the past 5 years on the number of issues clients have been advised on and these are set out in the table below:   Location2009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14England & Wales7,097,9236,921,7226,712,3656,610,0725,571,651England6,752,4376,705,4366,416,5776,114,3565,234,340London662,289657,195601,964610,452537,960Yorkshire621,175581,913568,618644,455488,998Kirklees LA61,54052,78152,33545,00640,931Huddersfield constituency16,42914,51514,92214,38213,125

Citizens Advice

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information his Department holds on the number of Citizens Advice Bureaux field offices which have (a) opened and (b) closed in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) London, (iv) Yorkshire, (v) Kirklees local authority area and (vi) Huddersfield constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold this information as central Government funds the umbrella organisation, Citizens Advice, but not individual bureaux. We have obtained the following information from Citizens Advice:   a) Citizens Advice currently has 316 member bureaux (legal entities). This number fluctuates as bureaux merge to create more sustainable and efficient organisations, resulting in less being spent on back office functions and more on delivery. When bureaux close, every effort is made to expand resources within neighbouring bureaux to ensure services continue for local residents. Citizens Advice do not have details of new locations opened by year   b) Citizens Advice is only able to provide information on bureaux closures for 7 of the past 10 years. Details are set out in the table below: Location2005-062006-072009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14TotalEngland & Wales131353319England131343217London01010002Yorkshire00000000Kirklees LA00000000Huddersfield constituency00000000   Information for years 2007-08 and 2008-09 is not recorded. This is either because there were no bureau closures during that period, or because data has not been recorded in a way that can be deemed accurate.

Citizens Advice

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding the Government has allocated to Citizens Advice in each of the last 10 years.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) provides core Grant-in-Aid funding to Citizen Advice (CitA), the umbrella body for the bureaux service across England and Wales. Central Government does not provide funding directly to individual bureaux, core funding for these are usually provided by the local authority in which they are located.In previous years BIS has also provided funding to Citizen Advice (CitA) under the Financial Inclusion Fund (for Face to Face Debt Advice project) – now delivered by Citizens Advice through bureaux under contract with the Money Advice Service; and under the additional Hours of Advice (AHA) Project - a one-off programme of funding to enable bureaux to extend their opening hours following the recession in Autumn 2008, funding for which ended March 2011.Funding data can be found in the attached table.



BIS funding data for Citizens Advice
(Word Document, 37.5 KB)

Citizens' Advice Bureaux

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information his Department holds on the number of people who have used Citizens Advice Bureaux in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) London, (d) Yorkshire, (e) Kirklees local authority area and (f) Huddersfield constituency in each of the last five years.

Jo Swinson: The Department does not hold this information. Citizens Advice has provided the information set out in the table below:   Location2009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14England & Wales2,000,0002,147,5502,107,7592,108,3332,086,472EnglandNo accuratefurtherbreakdownof dataavailable2,012,4121,967,1671,954,9081,947,940London225,089214,364207,087225,651Yorkshire143,916144,775170,937152,984Kirklees LA11,65711,69711,33912,480Huddersfield constituency3,1853,3533,2253,688   Overall the number of unique clients is declining due to the work undertaken to expand delivery through alternative channels; by phone and via the Adviceguide website.   Clients are demanding more access to the service via these alternative channels and Kirklees bureau is reacting to this change in demand patterns. Accurate electronic recording of data across the bureaux network has only been possible in the last 4 years, prior to which statistics were collected across the network either manually or in a variety of different data systems.

Citizens' Advice Bureaux

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of Citizens Advice Bureaux on their users' capability to repay debts.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is not responsible for funding debt advice. Bureaux deliver face to face debt advice under a contract held between Citizens Advice and the Money Advice Service.

Delivery Services

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure consumers are aware of their rights when they receive poor service from parcel delivery firms.

Jo Swinson: On 31 July last year the UK Statement of Principles on Parcel Deliveries, developed through collaboration between Citizens Advice and the British Retail Consortium, was published. The Principles set out best practice for businesses, such as parcel delivery firms, on how they can ensure fair delivery prices, consumers can obtain delivery cost information upfront and get clear directions to the terms and conditions. This will help consumers to be better informed about online retailers’ pricing policies in particular with regard to delivering to consumers in remote communities. The Statement of Principles is available on the Citizens Advice website: http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/scotland/news/whats_new_sep14_statement_of_principles_for_parcel_deliveries_now_covers_the_uk.htm.   If a consumer has a problem with a parcel delivery firm they can contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 08454 04 05 06 or through their website (https://www.adviceguide.org.uk) which offers a free service on how consumers can proceed with their complaints.   Citizens Advice provides guidance on what consumers can do if they suffer delivery problems. This advice can be found on their website: http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_common_problems_with_products_e/consumer_problems_with_delivery_e.htm.   In addition, the Consumer Rights Bill which is currently before Parliament, will clarify and enhance consumer rights and remedies when contracting with traders for the provision of services, such as parcel delivery firms. This will make it clear for the first time that if traders breach the rights set out in the Bill, the trader is required to re-perform the service to bring it up to scratch or failing that offers a reduction in price. We have been working closely with consumer groups, including Citizens Advice, to develop an effective publicity campaign, including the use of social media to raise consumers’ awareness of these new rights. The Citizens Advice website will be updated by 1 October 2015 when the Bill is anticipated to come into force.

Small Businesses: Glasgow

Mr Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken that benefit micro enterprises in Glasgow South West constituency.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Higher Education: Leeds

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many young people living in (a) Leeds and (b) Leeds Central constituency entered higher education in each of the last 20 years.

Greg Clark: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that local small businesses will be part of the supply chain for the Hinkley Point C development.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for International Development

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has allocated to the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Justine Greening: The new Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) will replace the Conflict Pool in April 2015. The Conflict Pool received an allocation from the Treasury of £683M in FY14/15 - no allocation was made to the CSSF. The CSSF allocation from the Treasury for FY15/16 will be £1033m. Departmental allocations are being finalised and Parliament will be informed in due course.

Department for Education

Children: Literacy

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve levels of child literacy in low-income families; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Government is committed to eliminating illiteracy and wants all children to read fluently and with good comprehension. The new English curriculum places a renewed focus on the requirement for pupils to learn to read through systematic synthetic phonics, as evidence shows this is the most effective approach to early reading.  To boost the quality of phonics teaching, we have provided £23.7 million in match funding to over 14,000 primary schools, enabling them to buy systematic synthetic phonics products and training. We have also introduced a phonics screening check. The first three years of the check have enabled teachers to identify nearly 568,000 six-year-olds who needed extra support.   For pupils who do not reach the expected level in reading by the end of primary school, we have introduced the Year 7 Catch-up Premium. This funding – £500 per pupil – enables secondary schools to deliver additional support for those pupils that most need it.  The Government has also committed £8.8 billion of pupil premium funding for schools in England for the period between 2011-12 and 2015-16. The pupil premium gives schools the extra resources they need to close the attainment gap between those from poorer and wealthier backgrounds, including in reading outcomes.  The 2014 Key Stage Two results show that our reforms are already having an effect: a record proportion of children (89%) reached the expected standard of reading (up three percentage points from last year). Attainment in reading has increased for disadvantaged pupils from 73% in 2011 to 82% in 2014, an increase of nine percentage points, while the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has narrowed by 5 percentage points. Attainment in writing has also increased for disadvantaged pupils from 70% in 2012 when teacher assessment was introduced to 76% in 2014, an increase of six percentage points, while the gap has narrowed by 3 percentage points over the same period.

Free Schools: Luton

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the decision was taken to withdraw approval for Luton Girls' Academy.

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions officials from her Department have had with Luton local authority on the implications of the decision to withdraw approval for Luton Girls' Academy.

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has provided to ACE Trust Ltd for the development of Luton Girls' Academy.

Mr Edward Timpson: All free school projects approved to enter the pre-opening stage are paid a grant to support the project through to opening – the Project Development Grant (PDG). The PDG is essential to financially support the school during pre-opening. Where a project is withdrawn from the programme, payment of the PDG is stopped. To date, Ace Trust Limited has received two PDG payments amounting to £180,000 and the department will take steps to recover any unspent funds.   The Regional Schools Commissioner for North West London and South Central held a meeting with senior officers from Luton Borough Council on 14 November 2014. The department received written correspondence from the Corporate Director, Children & Learning at Luton Borough Council on 5 January 2015 and a subsequent telephone discussion took place on 14 January 2015 between officials and the team responsible for admissions and pupil place planning in Luton to discuss secondary pupil place need and the potential implications of withdrawing the Luton Girls’ Academy free school project. This ensured the views of the council were taken into account prior to any decision being made, and the impact on pupils was carefully considered.   The decision to withdraw approval for Luton Girls’ Academy was taken on 26 January 2015 and communicated to Ace Trust Limited in a letter dated 27 January 2015.

Free Schools: Luton

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many first choice school admissions applications were submitted to Luton Girls' Academy for entry in September 2014.

Mr Edward Timpson: Luton Girls’ Academy was not planned to open for the start of the 2014/15 academic year so no applications were received for entry in September 2014.

Schools: Standards

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of pupils attended schools that were rated (a) inadequate and (b) requires improvement in each local authority area in each of the most recent five years for which figures are available.

Mr David Laws: I am pleased that over one million more children are now in schools that are good or better than in 2010. Ofsted publish data for each local authority area and I have asked Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw to write to you on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the library of the House.

Social Services: Children

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of children under the age of one (a) started an episode of need, (b) were referred to children's social care services, (c) were subject to a child protection plan and (d) were in care in each local authority area in each of the most recent five years for which figures are available.

Mr Edward Timpson: The information requested has been placed in the House Library. Only the last three years of data have been provided. Figures for 2010 and 2011 could only be made available at disproportionate cost.

Special Educational Needs

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will issue guidelines to local authorities on implementing the Children and Families Act 2014 which relate to funding arrangements for children with special educational needs.

Mr Edward Timpson: The ‘Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 0-25’, which provides statutory guidance on Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014, includes references to the funding arrangements for children with special educational needs (SEN). More detailed guidance on the funding arrangements for children with SEN is issued by the education funding agency from time to time. Recent operational guidance was published in July 2014 and last updated in December 2014: ‘Schools Revenue Funding 2015-2016: Operational Guidance Version 4’. [1]  [1] www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/390387/Schools_revenue_funding_2015_to_2016_operational_guide_Dec_2104.pdf

Supply Teachers: Pensions

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will introduce legislative proposals to make it compulsory that supply teachers have access to pension rights on an equal basis to other teachers.

Mr David Laws: The Teachers’ Pensions Regulations currently provide for supply teachers to participate in the Teacher’s Pension Scheme (TPS) where they are employed by a scheme employer. In the main, these are local authorities (LAs), academies and further education colleges. This includes supply teachers who are recruited by a supply agency but then employed directly, under a contract of employment, by the scheme employer.   However, where supply teachers are self-employed or remain employed by a supply agency and their services are provided under a contract for services, it is not possible for them to participate in the TPS as there is no organisation to undertake the employer role, including remitting contributions to the scheme.   The Department for Education does not plan to review these arrangements, and considers that it is for employers and teachers to determine how supply teachers are employed, which can in turn enable access to the TPS under the current arrangements.   The provision of pension benefits for teachers is a devolved matter and therefore the legislative provisions for teachers in England and Wales will not necessarily reflect the provisions for teachers in Northern Ireland.

Ministry of Justice

Glen Parva Young Offender Institution

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons his Department did not appeal Leicester City Council's refusal of planning permission for a road adjacent to Glen Parva young offenders institution; and what effect that decision will have on his plans for a secure college in the area.

Andrew Selous: The Secure College Pathfinder in Leicestershire will be the first of a new generation of establishments which will put education at the heart of youth custody, giving young people the skills, training and discipline to get their lives back on track. An appeal was not lodged following refusal of planning permission for the temporary access road through Eyres-Monsell Park as an existing privately owned road, Tigers Road, was found to be a suitable alternative.

Communication

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his Department's communications budget was in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Mike Penning: The department’s budget for the MoJ Communication team (staff & non-staff) is shown in the table below: Financial YearAreaTotal Comms Budget2010- 2011MoJ Communication£7.5m2011- 2012MoJ Communication£4.9m2012- 2013MoJ Communication£4.6m2013- 2014MoJ Communication£4.5m2014 -2015MoJ Communication£4.7m  [£4.3m excluding transfers from other government departments] The increase in 2014-15 is a result of a transfer of staff and budget to MoJ from other government departments for design services (totalling £0.4m). On a like for like basis, excluding this transfer, the MoJ Communication team budget for 2014-15 is £4.3m, continuing the annual trend of decreases in budget seen since 2010-11, and representing a reduction of over 40% compared to 2010-11.

Drugs: Crime

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drug-related confiscation orders were issued for (a) £0 to £1,000, (b) £1,001 to £5,000, (c) £5,001 to £10,000, (d) £10,001 to £20,000, (e) £20,001 to £50,000, (f) £50,001 to £100,000, (g) £100,001 to £500,000, (h) £500,001 to £1 million, (i) £1 million to £5 million and (j) more than £5 million in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many confiscation orders were issued for (a) £0-£1,000, (b) £1,001-£5,000, (c) £5,001-£10,000, (d) £10,001-£20,000, (e) £20,001-£50,000, (f) £50,001-£100,000, (g) £100,001-£500,000, (h) £500,001-£1 million, (i) £1 million-£5 million and (j) more than £5 million in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.

Mike Penning: Confiscation orders are one of the key mechanisms available to the Government to deprive criminals of the proceeds of their crimes. They are based on the notional benefit attributed to the crime and may therefore exceed the value of realisable assets that are known to the Court at the time of imposition. Crucially, an order that is outstanding stops the criminal benefitting from the proceeds of crime and ensures that, if assets are discovered in the future, they can be seized. The table below shows the total number of confiscation orders issued in 2012/13 and 2013/14 by value groups. It also shows the total number of drug related confiscation orders issued in 2012/13 and 2013/14 by value group.Order value2012/20132013/2014Total orders madeDrug related offences Total orders madeDrug related offences£0 to £1,0002833180926901824£1,001 to £5,00012578681205844£5,001 to £10,000483267476260£10,001 to £20,000505225538226£20,001 to £50,000647241558194£50,001 to £100,0002678125894£100,001 to £500,00033710725179£500,001 to £999,999*397265£1million to £5million2752811More than £5million6030Total:6401361060333537 *figure amended from £500,001 to £999,999 (other than £1m as requested in question) to avoid the double counting of orders as number ranges overlapped. The total amount defendants repaid from their criminal activity across all agencies has increased for the last five consecutive years and we are currently on course to have another highly effective year. £137.2million was collected in 2013/14; as at the end of December 2014, £113 million had been recovered, which is an increase of 10% on the same period last year. HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and other agencies involved in confiscation order enforcement take the recovery of criminal assets very seriously and are working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters is a continued priority.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to tackle insurance fraud known as crash for cash.

Mike Penning: The Government takes insurance fraud very seriously. It has recently set up a taskforce, chaired by the former Law Commissioner David Hertzell, which will consider the range of insurance fraud and make recommendations to reduce the level of fraudulent claims with a view to reducing premiums and protecting the interests of honest consumers. The taskforce aims to publish an interim report by Spring 2015 with a final report by the end of 2015. The Government has also been working closely with stakeholders from across the industry to develop a package of reforms to tackle the abuse of whiplash claims. The next round of reforms will come into force in April.

Legal Aid Scheme: Children

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the speech by the Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties of 24 September 2014 at the Family Mediation Association Annual Conference 2014, whether his Department plans to seek the views of children, young people and expert non-governmental organisaitons in its review of children's access to legal aid.

Simon Hughes: Following the reforms to civil legal aid, funding remains available in around 95% of cases where a child or young person is the applicant. This includes legal aid for all public law children cases, and where a child is a party in private family law cases.The Government has made clear that it will undertake a post-implementation review of the legal aid provisions within the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) within 3-5 years of implementation. Although the scope of this review has not been finalised, it is expected that it will consider evidence from a wide range of sources. In the mean time, the Government continues at all times to review the operation of the legal aid system. Ministers have considered, and will continue to consider, all representations and evidence about the impact of LASPO on young people.

Legal Aid Scheme: Children

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children received (a) social welfare, (b) family, (c) immigration and (d) prison legal aid in each of the last four years.

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) children under 18 and (b) 18 to 24 year olds have applied for legal aid under the Exceptional Case Funding Scheme in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15 to date.

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) children under 18 and (b) 18 to 24 year olds received legal aid in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14.

Mike Penning: Figures presented are taken from published legal aid statistics or more detailed breakdowns where necessary. The age groupings provided are taken from the statistical reporting currently produced and are the latest figures available. Table 1: Age of client for Legal Help and Civil Representation covering family, immigration and social welfare outcomes, 2010/11 to 2013/14Financial YearAge BandFamilyImmigrationSocial Welfare2010-1118 and under24,03513,1923,716 19-2561,02728,32039,4692011-1218 and under27,4318,2223,075 19-2561,18118,14133,5812012-1318 and under30,2275,2522,567 19-2557,14314,81826,4062013-1418 and under36,7034,1591,477 19-2544,56111,81211,530 Figures covering prison law outcomes are not available from the administrative system as applicant dates of birth are not systematically recorded against Legal Aid cases. Table 2: Age of client in all legal aid scheme outcomes for 2012/13 and 2013/14Financial Year18 and under19-252012-1397,078244,4532013-1492,965204,641 The full official published statistics are available since 2012/13 and can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322449/clients.csv. Corresponding figures for 2011/12 are not available across all areas of law.These published figures suppress values where low volumes may allow identification of the client alongside further attributes released in the same data extract including ethnicity, gender and disability status. The information requested on Exceptional Case Funding applicants is supplied in the table below:Table 3: Age of applicant ECF Oct 2013 to Sep 2014  Under 1818 to 24Oct 2013 to Mar 20143656Apr 2014 to Sep 20141439Please note: Age data for Exceptional Case Funding applicants was collected from October 2013 onwards. The latest available published data is to September 2014 and the figures supplied show each individual applicant only once.

Prisoners' Release

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people released from prison did not attend the first scheduled meeting with their probation officer in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Andrew Selous: It has not been possible within the deadline to produce the requested information from operational systems. However, I will write to the honourable member with this information as soon as possible.

Prime Minister

India

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Prime Minister, what (a) private meetings and (b) other engagements he has had with representatives of (i) the Indian government and (ii) Indian private companies since taking up office.

Mr David Cameron: Details of my meetings with representatives of other Governments both in this country and during my visits overseas and my meetings with external organisations are available on the gov.uk website.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions have taken place in the National Security Council of measures to protect (a) nuclear facilities and (b) other strategic national infrastructure from unmanned aerial vehicle attacks in (i) 2014 and (ii) 2015.

Mr David Cameron: Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Ministry of Defence

Islamic State

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) scale and (b) result is of recent air operations against ISIL.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Burma

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of providing training courses for the Burmese Army to date; and what funding for that purpose has been allocated for (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has allocated to the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Work and Pensions

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people affected by the under-occupancy penalty in (a) Copeland Borough Council area and (b) Cumbria County Council area.

Mr Mark Harper: The information requested, for those affected by the under-occupancy penalty in each local authority in the Cumbria County Council area and Copeland Borough Council, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/number-of-housing-benefit-claimants-and-average-weekly-spare-room-subsidy-amount-withdrawal This information is also published at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

Incapacity Benefit: Leeds

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Leeds and (b) Leeds Central constituency are claiming incapacity benefit because of a mental health problem.

Mr Mark Harper: The information requested for Leeds local authority and Leeds Central constituency is published and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool Guidance for users is available at:- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will produce overarching guidance to ensure that Universal Credit data sharing between his Department and local support providers is undertaken in a consistent and appropriate manner.

Mr Mark Harper: Work is underway to establish the processes to support the sharing of data as envisioned through the legislation. At this stage, these regulations are a legislative gateway and we are working to implement the data sharing approach safely and securely which will include the provision of guidance.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2015 to Question 221544, what the unrounded forecast agreed with OBR is for the number of claimants of Universal Credit in May 2015.

Mr Mark Harper: Forecasts of caseloads will always be subject to uncertainty, for example due to economic conditions changing. To reflect this we provide a rounded estimate of 0.1m.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of ATOS's use of cognitive behavioural therapy for people suffering from Myalgic Encephalopathy and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Mr Mark Harper: Atos have contracts with the Department to conduct assessments pertaining to different welfare benefits. Within these contracts, Atos do not use or conduct any form of therapy with any claimant and they do not refer claimants for any therapy. DWP’s internal occupational Employee Assistance Programme provides the opportunity for face to face counselling with staff where it is appropriate. Some counselling practitioners may use CBT techniques in their sessions depending on the counsellor’s training and preferred therapy techniques. Employee occupational and health records are confidential and DWP has not carried out any analysis of the efficacy of the use of CBT for its employees. Our understanding is that the use of CBT is minimal and therefore any analysis would not be statistically significant.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the oral Answer of 29 January 2015, Official Report, column 996, what steps her Department took to ensure that if pilot culls had achieved the target of 70 per cent reduction in badger numbers in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the oral Answer of 29 January 2015, Official Report, column 996, when she plans to publish her Department's estimate of the percentage reduction in badger numbers achieved in both pilot cull areas as a result of last year's cull.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the oral Answer of 29 January 2015, Official Report, column 996, what percentage reduction in badger numbers was achieved in each of the two 2014 pilot culls.

George Eustice: In West Somerset, the cull company achieved removal of 70% of the estimated starting population of badgers, indicating that industry-led culling can, in the right circumstances, deliver the level of effectiveness required to be confident of achieving disease control benefits.   The results for Gloucestershire show that continued progress is needed taking into account the additional challenges of interference, harassment and criminal damage by activists.   Cull companies were required to provide more detailed information on progress, and based on the information submitted, Natural England were able to build a more accurate assessment of progress. This is described in advice published in August 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-to-natural-england-on-setting-minimum-and-maximum-numbers-to-be-culled-in-year-2   As licensing authority, Natural England closely monitored the performance of each cull company and the effort being deployed across the cull area at frequent intervals, taking into account the actual circumstances being experienced by the cull companies.   Details of the number of badgers removed during year two of the culls were published on 18 December 2014, and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-summary-of-badger-control-monitoring-during-2014.   Defra’s advice to Natural England on setting minimum and maximum number of badgers to be culled in West Somerset and West Gloucestershire in year 2 of the badger culls can be found at the link above. This advice includes a summary of the methods considered by Defra for estimating the badger populations in these areas. The minimum number is intended to correspond to a 70% reduction of the population relative to the initial starting population before the culls started in 2013. The culling objective is for no more than 30% of the starting population to remain on conclusion of the cull.   Based on the population estimation methodology selected, in Gloucestershire, Natural England set a minimum number of 615. At the conclusion of the 2014 cull 274 badgers were removed.   Based on the population estimation methodology selected, in Somerset Natural England set a minimum number of 316. At the conclusion of the 2014 cull, 341 badgers were removed.

Dogs: Smuggling

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report of the Dogs Trust entitled, The Puppy Smuggling Scandal, published on 16 November 2014, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendations in that report which relate specifically to her Department; and what timetable it has for the implementation of those recommendations.

George Eustice: We take evidence of the illegal importation of pets very seriously. The action we are taking to tackle this trade is focused on three areas.   Firstly, responsibility for stopping the illegal movement of puppies begins in the country where they are born, and my officials continue to raise instances of abuse of the pet travel scheme with the relevant countries.   Secondly, we will maintain effective border controls. The UK carries out more checks on pets at the border than most other EU member states and stringent penalties are in place where people are found to be breaking the rules.   Thirdly, the illegal trade is driven by demand for cheap, pedigree puppies and we have published guidance on the steps pet owners can take to avoid buying an illegally imported pet: https://www.gov.uk/buying-a-cat-or-dog.   The Dogs Trust has been invited to meet with the Minister for animal welfare to discuss their report ‘The Puppy Smuggling Scandal’.

Dogs: Smuggling

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to tackle the illegal importation of puppies to the UK from Eastern Europe.

George Eustice: The action we are taking to tackle this trade is focused on three areas:   Firstly, responsibility for stopping the illegal movement of puppies begins in the country where they are born, where the authorities have a duty to ensure that the welfare of pets intended for sale is safeguarded and that EU pet passports are issued correctly. Following a recent report by the Dogs Trust ‘The Puppy Smuggling Scandal’ published in November 2014 the Chief Veterinary Officer wrote to the authorities in the countries highlighted in the report and follow up action has been taken. My officials will continue to act on reports of abuse of the pet travel scheme.   Secondly, we will maintain effective border controls. The UK carries out more checks on pets at the border than most other EU member states and stringent penalties are in place where people are found to be breaking the rules.   Thirdly, the illegal trade is driven by demand for cheap pedigree puppies and we have published guidance on the steps pet owners can take to avoid buying an illegally imported pet: https://www.gov.uk/buying-a-cat-or-dog. We are also working with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group who have developed minimum standards for on-line pet advertisers and which have led to the removal of over 130,000 problematic adverts in the last year.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the reasons are for the time her Department's tendering process has taken for testing cattle for tuberculosis.

George Eustice: Defra Network Procurement followed the procurement process defined in the Public Contract Regulations 2006 amended 2009.   To ensure that all tenderers had sufficient knowledge and information relating to the tender, five supplier engagement days were held in both Wales and England for all registered interested parties. These were held in September 2013, April 2014 and May 2014, which helped the Authority to finalise the contract specification.   In response to feedback from the veterinary profession, the tendering period of the procurement was extended from the normal period of 40 days to 60 days. The Invitation to Tender was published on 7 July 2014.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent timetable her Department has set for the tendering process for testing cattle for tuberculosis.

George Eustice: Defra has signed contracts with the two Delivery Partners for Wales and anticipates these services going live in April 2015. We are currently handling a legal challenge to the award of contracts in England and until such time as this has been resolved no timetable to the commencement of the service for England is available. Until such time as Defra is able announce details on the commencement of the service for England, the current arrangements for TB testing will continue, where testing is carried out by either an official veterinarian (under the direction of the Animal and Plant Health Agency {APHA}), or a member of APHA staff.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Council Tax: North West

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the total amount of uncollected council tax was in (a) Warrington and (b) the North West in each financial year since 2009-10.

Kris Hopkins: Holding answer received on 11 December 2014



The amounts of council tax outstanding in Warrington at 31 March in each of the last five years are shown in the table below. Total council tax arrears outstandingAs at 31 March£000s20109,51820119,31720129,817201310,703201411,860 Source: Quarterly Return of Council Taxes and Non-domestic rates (QRC4) form.The figures are calculated by adding the amount of council tax that was uncollected within the year to the council tax arrears brought forward, less any receipts received in respect of previous years’ arrears, less any council tax written off as uncollectable. The council tax collection rates for Warrington for the last 5 years are:   2009-10 97.3% 2010-11 97.5% 2011-12 97.6% 2012-13 97.4% 2013-14 97.2% My Department does not produce regional statistics. The local government finance system does not operate on a regional basis, and the Government Office regions have been abolished. In our best practice document, “50 ways to save”, we listed improving council tax collection rates and reducing arrears as a key way of making sensible savings to help keep overall council tax bills down and protect frontline services. Every penny of council tax that is not collected means a higher council tax for the law-abiding citizen who does pay on time. It is important that councils are sympathetic to those in genuine hardship, are proportionate in enforcement and do not overuse bailiffs. However, these figures show that there is a significant source of income for councils, which councils could use to support frontline service or cut council tax bills.

Housing: Construction

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to maximise the use of Build Now, Pay Later models on surplus public land; and how many sites have been disposed of through these models since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 20 January 2015



DCLG encourages all Departments to use Build Now Pay Later, where appropriate, when disposing of surplus sites, getting development moving and new homes built. Departments have committed to release as much land as possible on Build Now Pay Later terms, where there is market demand and where it represents value for money and is affordable. In 2011 we published guidance on using Build Now Pay Later and this is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/5925/2055143.pdf Build Now Pay Later is welcomed by partners and is proving to be an effective tool in speeding up the delivery of new homes,following the last Administration's housing crash where upfront investment was significantly reduced, impacting on the amount of new sites that could be opened up. This particularly applied to complex, brownfield and strategic sites, where significant up-front capital is required to fund infrastructure and remediation works. Through the Homes and Communities Agency this Department has utilised Build Now Pay Later for the vast majority of its site disposals and nearly all of the large ones. Since April 2013, of the 28 sites that were disposed of by the Homes and Communities Agency using its Disposal Framework, 27 sites were offered with the benefit of Build Now Pay Later.

Building Inspectors

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward proposals to amend the Building Approved Inspectors Regulations 2000 to ensure that building inspection is required to be independent.

Stephen Williams: Regulation 9 of the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010 and the Approved Inspectors' Code of Conduct operated by CICAIR Ltd, the body designated by the Secretary of State to carry out executive and administrative functions relating to the appointment of approved inspectors, already require approved inspectors to act independently of external influences in carrying out building inspections. The Government has no plans to amend Regulation 9.

Race Relations

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to promote tolerance of different minorities.

Stephen Williams: Holding answer received on 23 January 2015



Our approach to promoting tolerance of different minorities is through supporting integration in communities. I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 18 December 2014, Official Report, Columns 110-118WS, which details my Department's integration approach, as well as current integration projects and activities.

Building Inspectors

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Building Approved Inspectors Regulations 2000 in providing independent and transparent assessment of building plans.

Stephen Williams: Under provisions in the Building Act 1984 approved inspectors have a duty to inspect plans of proposed building work for compliance and, where required, consult fire and rescue authorities and sewerage undertakers on the plans. Where the plans show compliance and where the person carrying out the work wishes, the approved inspector will give a plans certificate to that effect. A plans certificate is a public document. Regulation 9 of the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010 requires approved inspectors to operate independently. The Government has no plans to change the relevant provisions in the Building Act 1984 or Regulation 9 of the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations.

Building Inspectors

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many complaints he has received about a conflict of interest in assessments conducted by the National House Building Council in relation to Approved Document M.

Stephen Williams: The Department is not aware of any specific complaints of this nature involving assesments conducted by the National House Building Council in relation to Approved Document M. Complaints about approved inspectors such as the National House Building Council should be made to CICAIR Limited, the body designated to carry out executive and administrative functions in respect of approved inspectors.

Building Inspectors

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the independence of building approved inspectors.

Stephen Williams: Regulation 9 of the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010 and the Approved Inspectors' Code of Conduct which is operated by CICAIR Limited, the body designated by the Secretary of State to carry out executive and administrative functions relating to approved inspectors, set out the provisions on the independence of approved inspectors. Approved inspectors must comply with the provisions in the Regulations and as a condition of approval comply with the guidance in the Code of Conduct. CICAIR monitors the operation of the Code in respect of individual approved inspectors and has procedures in place to take action if an approved inspector breaches any of the provisions of the Code. The Department is currently in discussion with CICAIR as to whether further guidance on the interpretation of Regulation 9 should be issued.

Devolution: Greater Manchester

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what requirement there will be for public consultation as part of the evaluation of the Greater Manchester devolution agreement.

Kris Hopkins: The devolution agreement provides for Greater Manchester to agree with the Government its plans for evaluation, with the first review to be completed in 2019-20; these plans will be expected to include the extent of any public consultation considered appropriate in the evaluation.

Local Government Services: Small Businesses

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that local authorities trading under the general power of competence granted by the Localism Act 2011 do not unfairly compete with existing local small businesses.

Kris Hopkins: The Government has devolved powers to local authorities to do anything that individuals generally may do, and it is their responsibility to balance the considerable opportunities to deliver efficient services for their communities with the needs of small businesses in their area. We want councils to be able to act confidently, without constantly looking back to Whitehall for permission. This is what devolution means. The general power of competence provisions set out in the Localism Act 2011 build on existing powers to charge and to trade. Local authorities can charge for discretionary services, so long as they are not required to provide the service, they have the power to provide the service, the charges are on a cost recovery basis, and the individual agrees to the service being provided. If a local authority wishes to trade for a commercial purpose, this must be carried out through a company to ensure that it does not have an unfair tax advantage over business. Local authorities, like other bodies, are subject to and must abide by competition law and it is their responsibility to ensure they comply with the requirements of state aid, competition and procurement law. The Government will honour its commitment to conduct a post implementation review of the Localism Act 2011, and any concerns from small businesses about unfair competition will be considered as part of that review.

Building Inspectors

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to ensure that approved building inspectors are (a) independent and (b) not subject to conflicts of interest.

Stephen Williams: Regulation 9 of the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010 sets out requirements for the independence of approved inspectors. In particular it prohibits approved inspectors from having any financial or professional interest in building work for which they are carrying out building control functions. This regulation is supplemented by guidance in the Approved Inspectors Code of Conduct issued by CICAIR Limited, the body designated by the Secretary of State to carry out his executive and administrative functions. Approved inspectors are required to comply with both regulation 9 and the Code of Conduct. CICAIR limited is responsible for the approval and re-approval of approved inspectors and carries out periodic audits of their operations. Part of these processes is to assess that approved inspectors are able to comply with regulation 9.

Building Regulations

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations other than from the National Housebuilding Council he has received on section 6 of Approved Document M of the Building Regulations.

Stephen Williams: As part of the Housing Standards Review, the Department issued a consultation on changes to Approved Document M in September 2014. While no change is proposed to the technical requirements of section 6, text has been clarified and reformatted. Over 500 responses were received to the consultation and a number of these made comments relating to this part of Approved Document M. We will publish a summary of responses to the consultation in due course.

Building Inspectors

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations other than from the National Housebuilding Council he has received on the Building (Approved Inspectors etc) Regulations 2000.

Stephen Williams: This Department receives many representations about approved inspectors and the operation of the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010.

Housing: Blaydon

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will delay proposals to build on the green belt in Blaydon constituency until after the publication of Household Projections 2012 to 2037.

Brandon Lewis: There are no central Government proposals to build on the Green Belt in Blaydon. The Government revoked Regional Strategies and their top-down housing targets to ensure Councils are best placed to work out, with their communities, what housing is needed and where it should go. The National Planning Policy Framework retains strong protections for the Green Belt. Most types of new building are inappropriate in Green Belt and, by definition, harmful to it. A local authority may alter a Green Belt boundary only in exceptional circumstances, through the Local Plan process. Our guidance of October 2014 reaffirms this protection (www.gov.uk/government/news/councils-must-protect-our-precious-green-belt-land)

Private Rented Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2015, to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East to Question 220713, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people residing in outbuildings in the UK.

Brandon Lewis: This information is not held centrally. It is for local authorities to use their wide range of legal powers to take action against illegal outbuildings.

Fracking

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether planning guidance provides for a specific approach to planning for hydraulic fracturing in a) national parks, (b) the Broads, (c) areas of outstanding natural beauty and (d) world heritage sites.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has the power to overturn a decision on an application for hydraulic fracturing in (a) national parks, (b) the Broads, (c) areas of outstanding natural beauty and (d) world heritage sites.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what grounds current planning guidance provides for not refusing an application for hydraulic fracturing in (a) national parks, (b) the Broads, (c) areas of outstanding natural beauty and (d) world heritage sites.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 02 February 2015



I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 28 July 2014, Official Report, House of Lords, Column WS141, which outlines the current planning guidance in place on this issue. Planning applications for shale extraction are considered under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, like any other local planning application. In January, we published a plain English guide to the planning system which explains the limited role of Ministers. It can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plain-english-guide-to-the-planning-system

Welfare Assistance Schemes

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received about the decision to withdraw funding for the Local Welfare Assistance scheme.

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the proposal to withdraw funding for the Local Welfare Assistance scheme on (a) families and (b) households on low incomes.

Kris Hopkins: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 3 February 2015, Official Report, Columns 5-7WS.  A summary of the responses to the consultation on local welfare provision in 2015-16, the local government finance settlement, and equality statements on both can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2015-to-2016

Housing Associations

Ms Rosie Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to deregulate housing associations.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 03 February 2015



The Government fundamentally reformed the regulation of housing associations in 2011 through the Localism Act, streamlining the regulatory system and refocusing it on economic regulation. Under the current statute the Regulator has a duty to minimise interference and must be proportionate, consistent, transparent and accountable. Since then, the Regulator has been making changes where appropriate to encourage innovation and private investment, while ensuring the protection of social assets and maintaining the confidence of private investors in the sector. In part because of our reforms, the sector has been able to attract significant private finance to deliver more new homes. With £19.5 billion of public and private investment between 2011 and 2015 we are on course to deliver 170,000 new affordable homes. A further £38 billion public and private investment will help ensure 275,000 new affordable homes are provided between 2015 and 2020.

Birmingham City Council

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the cost is of recent appointments to the Independent Improvement Panel to Birmingham City Council; and what body is funding those costs.

Kris Hopkins: As indicated in the Panel’s Terms of Reference agreed with the City Council, it will be supported by a secretariat provided jointly by Birmingham City Council and the Department for Communities and Local Government, and the expenses it will incur will be shared equally by the City Council and the Department.

Mayors: Greater Manchester

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, under what circumstances the interim mayor of Greater Manchester city-region will be appointed for a further term.

Kris Hopkins: Until Parliament legislates for an elected Mayor it is at the discretion of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to appoint an interim mayor - any such appointment would be for a fixed term to be determined by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, up to a maximum of 2 years. It is our intention that there would be primary legislation early in the next Parliament to facilitate direct elections in 2017.

Mayors: Greater Manchester

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether public scrutiny arrangements will be established before devolution of budgets to the eleventh leader of Greater Manchester planned under the devolution agreement.

Kris Hopkins: There is no devolution of budgets to the eleventh leader – budgets will be devolved to the Mayor when elected. There are already strong scrutiny arrangements for the Combined Authority through the Scrutiny Pool.

Mayors: Greater Manchester

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he took to ensure that the identities and needs of local communities were reflected in the proposal to amend the constitution of Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Kris Hopkins: We are currently consulting on the proposal to amend the constitution of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the consultation specifically asks for views on how the proposed change may impact on the identities and interests of local communities.

Mayors: Greater Manchester

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what consultations his Department had with local communities on the proposal to amend the constitution of Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Kris Hopkins: A proposal is currently being consulted on to amend the constitution of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. The consultation document has been placed on the Government’s website and as the paper states “The Secretary of State will also have regard to any comments received from members of the public and others.”.

Mayors: Greater Manchester

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether responses to the consultation on the proposal to amend the constitution of Greater Manchester Combined Authority will be published.

Kris Hopkins: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Planning Obligations: Cumbria

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Statement of 28 November 2014, Official Report, column 54WS, on small-scale developers, what estimate his Department has made of the financial effect on (a) Cumbria County Council and (b) Copeland Borough Council of financial credit being deducted from affordable housing contributions for vacant buildings brought into lawful use.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Planning Obligations

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Statement of 28 November 2014, Official Report, column 54WS, on small-scale developers, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of obligations under the amended Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 on the availability of affordable housing.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HM Treasury

Funerals

Lorely Burt: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to protect bereaved families if their funeral plan provider goes out of business; and if he will review the effectiveness of procedures in place for those circumstances.

Andrea Leadsom: Under the terms of articles 59 and 60 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001, money paid by a customer into a funeral plan must be placed by the plan provider either into a trust account managed by an independent fund manager or invested in a whole life insurance product from an authorised insurer.   The aim of these measures is to ensure that the money consumers pay funeral plan providers is kept securely and segregated from that of the business providing the plan, and is available when the time comes for the delivery of the funeral agreed in accordance with the plan specification.

Pensions: Tax Allowances

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much tax relief on private pension contributions was paid to (a) additional rate and (b) higher-rate taxpayers in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was paid in tax relief on private pensions for (a) higher rate taxpayers, (b) additional rate tax payers in each of the last five years up to the most recent period for which records are available.

Andrea Leadsom: I refer the hon Member to the answer that was given on 10 December 2014 to the hon Member for Cardiff South and Penarth, PQ 215992.

Capital Allowances

Ian Paisley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the CBI's People and Prosperity Report, published in September 2014, if he will increase the UK's capital allowances regime in line with other G7 economies in order to increase long-term investment.

Mr David Gauke: Under this government firms have benefited from the increased Annual Investment Allowance, which gives a 100 per cent up-front tax allowance on up to £500,000 of expenditure on qualifying plant and machinery until 1 January 2016,. This covers the total qualifying investment of 99.8% of businesses.   The main rate of corporation tax has been cut from 28% to 21%, and this year it will fall to 20%, the joint lowest rate in the G20. In addition, the small profits rate was cut to 20%. Cuts to corporation tax are expected to increase business investment by between 2.5% and 4.5% in the long term, equivalent to £3.6 billion and £6.2 billion in today’s prices. This government has also introduced a number of business tax measures to increase investment, cutting all major business taxes Fuel Duty, Employer NICs and Business Rates, and introducing investment incentives such as the Patent Box and above the line R&D credit.

Minimum Wage

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many breaches of the minimum wage were reported in each year since 2010 for which records are available in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) England, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many such cases were (i) taken to court and (ii) led to convictions or penalties.

Mr David Gauke: The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage very seriously. Any worker who believes that they are being paid below the minimum wage should make a complaint to the Pay & Work Rights Helpline (PWRH) on 0800 917 2368.   HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) review every complaint referred to them by the PWRH and, in addition, collate and analyse data from various sources to identify employers more likely not to be paying National Minimum Wage and undertake targeted enforcement against those employers.   HMRC does not capture complaints or the outcomes of its investigations by reference to Government regions, constituencies or county. Details of prosecutions can be found in the answer provided on 6 May 2014 at Hansard Column 110W. Details of penalties can be accessed in the response provided at UIN 205613.

ICT: VAT

Chi Onwurah: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect on the market for Cloud services of refunding VAT for contracted-out services but not for Cloud services.

Mr David Gauke: No estimate has been made.

Regional Planning and Development: Stratford

Chris Bryant: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.133 in the Autumn Statement 2014, how the £141 million allocated to the Olympicopolis project will be spent; and from which departmental budget that funding will come.

Danny Alexander: The National Infrastructure Plan 2014 announced the government would be investing £141m in order to support the London Legacy Development Corporation and Mayor of London’s Olympicopolis project to redevelop the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.   This will support the construction of a new higher education and cultural quarter carried out in partnership with University College London, the Victoria and Albert museum, University of the Arts London and Sadler’s Wells.   The Department for Communities and Local Government are responsible for providing funding to the Greater London Authority and will administer this funding on behalf of government.

Advertising

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what amount his Department has allocated for advertising in each financial year since 2010-11.

Andrea Leadsom: There was no specific budget allocated for advertising from 2010-11 to date.   You may wish to know that as part of the Government’s transparency agenda, all Departments publish details of spend over £25,000. Data is published one month in arrears and can be found within the link below: www.gov.uk/government/collections/25000-spend.

Public Sector: Pensions

Charlotte Leslie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the viability of proposals for the creation of a Citizens' Wealth Fund.

Danny Alexander: In 2013, the Government commissioned Hymans Robertson to consider merging Local Government Pension Scheme funds or creating a Common Investment Vehicle. The Government’s response to the findings is set out in the consultation document, ‘Local Government Pension Scheme: Opportunities for collaboration, cost savings and efficiencies’ issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government on 1 May 2014.

Small Businesses: Taxation

Mark Field: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect that accelerated payment notices have had on small and medium-sized businesses.

Mr David Gauke: A Tax Information and Impact Notice (TIIN) published on 9 March 2014 set out the summary of potential impacts of Accelerated payments including impact on business.   The TIIN noted that Accelerated Payments will have no impact on business undertaking normal commercial transactions. Small and micro businesses will only be affected if they participate in tax avoidance. The TIIN also indicated that the measure would be monitored and evaluated. The TIIN is available www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293934/TIIN_5133_7040_and_9029_accelerated_payments_of_tax_DOTAS_GAAR.pdf.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Fracking

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information his Department holds about the arrangements by which hydraulic fracturing companies publish evidence of how their commitments under the industry's community engagement charter scheme have been meet each year.

Matthew Hancock: Details of the package can be found on the website of the industry trade body UK Onshore Oil and Gas at: http://www.ukoog.org.uk/community/benefits

Fracking

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the effect of depth limits for hydraulic fracturing on (a) fugitive emissions and (b) safety.

Matthew Hancock: The risks of each project involving hydraulic fracturing can only be assessed in the light of the specific circumstances, including the geological and hydrogeological context. The risk of fugitive emissions and the safety aspects are assessed by expert regulators on a case-by-case basis as part of the environmental permitting and Health and Safety procedures.   The UK has decades of experience in safely conducting surface activities and constructing onshore gas wells, regulated by the Health & Safety Executive, and techniques to reduce emissions (“green completions”) have been made a requirement of environmental permits for shale gas production.

Fracking

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what criteria must be met for a person to be eligible to perform the role of independent well examiner for a hydraulic fracturing development.

Matthew Hancock: There is a legal requirement for the well operator to appoint an independent well examiner for the complete lifecycle of the well. UK regulations establish the level of independence required in that the examiner can be from the same company as the well operator but must be separate from any management and financial systems that could compromise objectivity. To date onshore operators have used separate companies to supply this service, they have not been delivered in-house.   Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors are made aware of the identity of the independent well examiner and will consider their level of competence and independence as part of the inspection of the well examination scheme for each onshore oil or gas well. If there is any concern about the level of competence or independence of the well examiner HSE inspectors will investigate and take appropriate action.

Fossil Fuels: Licensing

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of officiating the 13th onshore oil and gas licensing round; and how much his Department recouped from the sale of licences in that round.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on carbon and renewables targets.

Amber Rudd: Since agreement of the EU2030 climate and energy package, my Right Honourable Friend and I have had many discussions with EU counterparts on implementing the EU’s GHG target, including at the Environment Councils in October and December, and at the COP20 in Lima in December. My Right Honourable Friend met with Commissioner Arias Canete yesterday and discussed a wide range of climate change issues.

Housing: Energy

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps he is taking to help households improve their energy efficiency.

Mrs Siân C. James: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps he is taking to help households improve their energy efficiency.

Mr Edward Davey: We have extended our successful Energy Company Obligation out to 2017 and have reformed the Green Deal with changes such as the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund. Together, ECO and the Green Deal have helped more than one million homes become more energy efficient, and as I have informed the House already, yesterday I laid regulations to require landlords to bring their properties up to a minimum level of energy efficiency from 1 April 2018. If the House agrees these new, tough rules for the private rented sector, we estimate that around one million tenants will benefit from warmer and cheaper to heat homes.

Cabinet Office

Unemployment: Older People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of people aged 50 and over were unemployed for longer than (a) 12 months and (b) two years in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Unemployment
(PDF Document, 106.73 KB)

Crime: Ealing

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the level of (a) violent crime and (b) theft in Ealing, Southall constituency.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Trend Levels
(PDF Document, 184.32 KB)

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Ofcom

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the compliance of the current Deputy Chair of Ofcom with the provisions of the Ofcom Board Members' Code of Conduct in respect of impartiality.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Compliance by the Deputy Chair with the Ofcom Board Members’ Code of Conduct is for the Chair of Ofcom to assess. My Right Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not made an assessment.

Ofcom

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what due diligence processes he followed when appointing the current Deputy Chair of the Ofcom Board.

Mr Edward Vaizey: All candidates for public appointments, including Baroness Noakes in respect of her appointment as Deputy Chair of Ofcom, are required to declare relevant interests to the selection panel, in line with the OCPA Code (4.1). No other diligence was undertaken.

World War I: Anniversaries

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has to honour in London the contribution of Indian troops to the First World War.

Mrs Helen Grant: Up to 1.5 million volunteers from India served on various fronts during the First World War. The role India played in the Gallipoli campaign will be reflected in the UK's commemorative services being held at Cape Helles in Turkey and at the Cenotaph in London on 24th and 25th April respectively.The DCMS is facilitating a multi faith event at the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester on 10th March, the centenary of the second Battle of Neuve Chapelle, the first major engagement of Indian troops on the Western Front. This is bringing together British Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs to honour the contribution of their forebears and to commit themselves to continue working together for the good of society.

Department of Health

Abortion

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what procedures apply to independent sector places when there has been a failure to comply with the requirements of the revised Procedures for the Approval of Independent Sector Places for the Termination of Pregnancy and his Department's Guidance in Relation to the Requirements of the Abortion Act, both published in May 2014.

Jane Ellison: Holding answer received on 29 January 2015



Failure to comply with the Required Standard Operating Procedures is considered on a case by case basis. Investigations into breaches of the Abortion Act are a matter for the police.

Medical Records: Databases

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients do not allow the extraction of their data under care.data in order to avoid exclusions from bowel screening, e-referrals and similar services.

Dr Daniel Poulter: In February 2014 NHS England announced an extension to the care.data programme to listen to the views and concerns of patients and health professionals about the programme. During the listening exercise neither type of objection was implemented as no data was extracted. This means that information for services such as cancer screening, electronic prescriptions and e-referrals is currently flowing and will continue to do so.   The Health and Social Care Information Centre is committed to ensuring no patient suffers any adverse impact on their direct care through an inappropriate implementation of an objection.

Christie NHS Foundation Trust

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many legal cases have been initiated that involve treatment for trigeminal neuralgia given to patients at the Salford radiotherapy satellite of the Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA) handles clinical negligence claims on behalf of its members under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST). Currently, all NHS trusts in England are members of the CNST.   A search of the NHS LA’s claims’ database shows that less than five claims for clinical negligence involving treatment for trigeminal neuralgia have been submitted to the NHS LA from all members of the CNST during the last 10 years.   I hope my hon. Friend will understand that where a small number of cases exists, the Department is unable to provide a specific figure or location, as the disclosure of such information could breach an individual’s confidentiality.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS trusts have reported patient incidents involving stereotactic radiosurgery or stereotactic radiotherapy; what the nature was of each such incident; and what kind of radiotherapy machine was involved in each such incident.

Jane Ellison: The National Reporting and Learning System identified five incidents over the past two years, which had been reported by three different National Health Service trusts.   Three incidents were reported in 2013 of the following nature:   Intra-procedural problem: stereotactic radiotherapy   - Treatment dosage issue (reported as no harm)   Intra-procedural problem: stereotactic radiosurgery   - Localisation markers not correctly placed (reported as no harm); and - Beam positioning issue (reported as no harm).   Two incidents were reported in 2014 of the following nature:   Intra-procedural problem: stereotactic radiotherapy   - Beam positioning issue (reported as low harm); and - Near miss wrong side stereotactic radiotherapy treatment due to transcription error (reported as no harm).   None of these incidents gave details of the machine involved.

NHS: Private Finance Initiative

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has paid in debt repayments in respect of NHS PFI projects in the last three years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Information on the estimated revenue payments for the lifetime of each health sector private finance initiative (PFI) contract can be found on the Treasury’s website at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-finance-initiative-projects-2014-summary-data   Open up the ‘Current projects as at 31 March 2014’ spreadsheet.   These are the latest estimates collected from each department for end of March 2014; the health sector schemes are clearly marked “Department of Health” and then “DH-Acute (i.e. Hospitals)”. The initial capital cost of each scheme is shown in Column R and the annual revenue payment in the columns headed ‘Unitary Charge Payment’.   The Treasury table shows that for the 105 NHS PFI schemes that have been signed, the estimated total revenue payments (over the lifetime of their contracts) are £79.0 billion. The revenue payment figures include not just the financing costs (debt repayment and interest) for initial construction but also the costs of all the other services such as building maintenance and support services (cleaning, catering, portering etc) provided over the lifetime of the contract. The payments are subject to meeting agreed performance and quality standards and include an annual uprate assumption for inflation of 2.5%.   Over the last three years the annual total repayments have been as follows:   2011/12 - £1,582 million 2012/13 - £1,733 million 2013/14 - £1,806 million

NHS: Staff

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff are employed by each NHS England regional headquarters.

Dr Daniel Poulter: There are now over 17,200 (full-time equivalent) more professionally qualified clinical staff since the Election. In contrast, the number of central administrative staff has fallen by over 20,300, including over 7,000 fewer managers and senior managers.   The number of staff (headcount) employed by each NHS England regional headquarters is set out in the table below.   North98South104Midlands and East85London1506Total2793   Source: The Chief People officer for NHS England.   Notes: 1NHS England’s London Region is configured in a different manner to the other geographic regional offices, in that this is not underpinned by a number of area teams. This region operates as a single, integrated tier, which is why the number of staff employed in London relative to the other three regions appears to be higher.   2In providing this response, NHS England has excluded staff working in sub-regional teams and in primary care support services.

Food Standards Agency

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with the Food Standards Agency on implementing the recommendations in the efficiency review carried out by the National Audit Office in 2013.

Jane Ellison: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is a non-ministerial department and asked the National Audit Office to undertake an efficiency review in order to identify whether it was delivering the official controls required for the United Kingdom meat industry under European and UK legislation as efficiently as possible. The review took place early in 2013 and encompassed both frontline operational and support functions. Findings were presented to the FSA Board in July 2013, and an action plan developed in response.

Medical Records: Databases

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish in full the financial interests of Tim Kelsey, senior responsible owner of the care.data programme which relate to health data.

Dr Daniel Poulter: NHS England is committed to openness and transparency in its work and decision making. As part of that commitment, NHS England maintains and publishes a Register of Members’ Interests which draws together Declarations of Interest made by Board Members. In addition, members of the Board are required at the commencement of each meeting to declare any personal interest they may have in any business on the agenda.   The latest version is available on NHS England’s website at:   http://www.england.nhs.uk/about/reg-interests/

Diabetes: Dementia

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission or conduct research on the links between diabetes and early dementia.

George Freeman: Researchers at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health published findings in 2010 in the British Journal of Psychiatry that diabetes mellitus increases not only the risks of dementia and mild cognitive impairment but also the risk of progression from such impairment to dementia.   The NIHR is currently investing nearly £0.3 million in systematic reviews of interventions which target modifiable risk factors for dementia. This evidence synthesis will encompass vascular risk factors such as diabetes.

Diabetes: Drugs

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide additional funding to increase the availability of prescription drugs for diabetes.

George Freeman: In England, it is for commissioners to make funding decisions based on the health needs of their local populations.

HIV Infection

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many outpatient and inpatient appointments were (a) emergency and (b) elective with a (i) primary and (ii) secondary diagnosis of HIV in (A) England and (B) each clincial commissioning group area in each of the last 12 months; and what the average waiting time was for each such appointment.

Jane Ellison: The available information is set out in the attachments from Public Health England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre. 



PHE - HIV diagnosis (1) England (2) CCGs
(Word Document, 35.79 KB)




Finished Admission Episodes by CCGs
(Excel SpreadSheet, 163.12 KB)

Alliance Boots

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many contracts Public Health England has awarded to Alliance-Boots in each of the last four years; what each such contract was for; and what the total value was of each such contract.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) was established on 1 April 2013. Since 2013, PHE has awarded no contracts to Alliance-Boots.

Alliance Boots

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many contracts NHS bodies entered into with Alliance-Boots in each of the last five years; what services were provided for in each such contract; and what the total value was of each such contract.

Jane Ellison: The Department does not hold information on contracts held by National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts with individual suppliers.   The Department does not hold information on contracts for NHS clinical services. Decisions on providers of NHS clinical services are for clinical commissioning groups at a local level, or NHS England at a national level, to take, ensuring that their decisions are fair, transparent and proportionate, and will secure the best quality services for their patients.

Alliance Boots

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many contracts NHS England has awarded to Alliance-Boots in each of the last four years; what each such contract was for; and what the total value was of each such contract.

Jane Ellison: NHS England has only been in existence from 1 April 2013. It operated in shadow form from 1 October 2012 as the NHS Commissioning Board.   NHS England has advised that they are not aware of any contracts that have been awarded to Alliance-Boots during that period.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that the Meningitis B vaccine is added to the childhood immunisation programme in 2015.

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure progress on price negotiations with Novartis for the Meningitis B vaccine.

Jane Ellison: We are seeking to reach a positive conclusion to the negotiations with Novartis for supply of the meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine, Bexsero® at a cost-effective price, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation as soon as possible. The introduction of an NHS MenB immunisation programme for infants will depend on the outcome of these negotiations.

Organs: Donors

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of potential changes to the number of organ donations from a move to an opt-out system for organ donations; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of organ donors.

Jane Ellison: The Department will monitor the Opt-Out changes in legislation in Wales, to be introduced in December 2015, and the impact on donation rates. We continue to work closely with the Welsh Government to identify ways we can build on the significant increase in organ donations achieved since 2008, giving many more people the opportunity of a transplant.   A new seven year United Kingdom-wide organ donation and transplantation strategy was published by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) on 11 July 2013. In respect of increasing consent rates, the strategy encourages people to be proud to donate and aims to make the UK system comparable with the best of the world.   NHSBT continues to support work to increase donation and transplantation rates, particularly promoting collaborative working amongst organisations and raising awareness of donation in the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic population.

Clinical Trials

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what requirements to participate in clinical trials without charging there are in contracts issued to private healthcare providers.

George Freeman: The NHS Standard Contract is used by commissioners to commission healthcare services other than primary care from any provider, whether from the National Health Service or the independent sector. The service conditions set out in the Standard Contract state that:   - The Provider must put arrangements in place to facilitate recruitment of Service Users and Staff as appropriate into Approved Research Studies. - In respect of any Approved Research Study the Parties must have regard, as applicable, to NHS Treatment Costs Guidance.   An Approved Research Study is defined as ‘a clinical research study: (i) which is of clear value to the NHS; (ii) which is subject to high quality peer review (commensurate with the size and complexity of the study); (iii) which is subject to NHS research ethics committee approval where relevant; (iv) which meets all the requirements of any relevant Regulatory or Supervisory Body; and (v) in respect of which research funding is in place compliant with NHS Treatment Costs Guidance.’

Diabetes

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were diagnosed with diabetes in (a) Lancashire and (b) England in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: Information on the number of patients in the National Diabetes Audit (NDA) registered in primary care that were newly diagnosed with diabetes in the 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 audits is shown in the following table. Information is provided for England and eight clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the Lancashire Area Team.   Number of people newly diagnosed with diabetes in each audit year for England and CCGs in the Lancashire Area Team2009-102010-112011-122012-13England209,356220,605225,789185,916NHS Blackburn with Darwen CCG814600632842NHS Blackpool CCG953883740955NHS Chorley and South Ribble CCG975925769799NHS East Lancashire CCG1,3201,1951,4751,479NHS Greater Preston CCG1,027928893695NHS Lancashire North CCG718703625365NHS West Lancashire CCG565562518504NHS Fylde and Wyre CCG783709654630   Source: The Health and Social Care Information Centre – NDA   Notes: 1. Participation in the NDA, which audits diabetes registrations in primary and secondary care, is not mandatory. The NDA does not have 100% coverage or participation so the information in the table will be incomplete. 2. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health is the authoritative source for all paediatric diabetes audit data. 3. The NDA currently only holds data for 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. Each audit covers a 15 month period, for example the 2012-13 audit was for the period 1 January 2012 to 31 March 2013. 4. Due to the 15 month audit period from January to March, a patient could be classed as newly diagnosed in two audit periods, for example if the patient were diagnosed in 2012 and appeared in the 2011-12 and the 2012-13 audit they could be counted twice, once in each year.   5. The data at CCG level is collated by mapping data from GP practices for each audit year to their current CCG. Prior to the 2011-12 audit, the NDA reported at primary care trust (PCT) level. Where PCT and CCG boundaries differ, the figures here will differ to published figures from the 2009-10 and 2010-11 audits. 6. NDA 2012-13 comprised data from 1.9 million people with diabetes in England. The Quality and Outcomes Framework states there are approximately 2.7 million people aged 17 or over with diabetes in England alone. 7. NDA 2012-13 comprised data from 5,666 practices in England, there are around 8,000 practices in England.

Diabetes

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many diabetes specialist nurses were employed in (a) Lancashire and (b) England in each of the last five years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The National Health Service annual workforce census published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre provides information on the number of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in the NHS in England but it does not separately identify diabetes specialist nurses. However, there are now over 6,300 more nurses, midwives and health visitors working in the NHS in England compared to May 2010.   It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills and to deploy specialist nurses. Specialist nurses provide invaluable support for patients and their families. They are able to provide specialist treatment and advice and act as a gateway to other members of the multidisciplinary team, which can both save the NHS money and, more importantly, improve care and outcomes for patients.

Diabetes

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost of providing insulin to people diagnosed with diabetes.

George Freeman: In 2013-14, the latest year available, the net ingredient cost of insulin dispensed in primary care was £328.3 million and in secondary care the cost was £8.1 million. Insulin has been defined as all medicines included in British National Formulary section 6.1.1 Insulins.

Ovarian Cancer

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will meet bodies representing cancer sufferers to discuss the evaluation of the Be Clear on Cancer regional pilot for ovarian cancer.

Jane Ellison: For each Be Clear on Cancer campaign there is a comprehensive evaluation process. Data is collected on a number of metrics to reflect the possible campaign impact on key elements of the patient pathway.   The National Cancer Intelligence Network (part of Public Health England) have confirmed that they will publish a full and final evaluation report for the regional ovarian cancer pilot campaign as soon as possible, when analysis of all metrics is complete. However, in advance of a final evaluation report, they aim to publish an interim report containing the cancer awareness levels and the results from the analysis of Cancer Waiting Times data before the end of February 2015, at which time we will arrange a meeting with Public Health England and ovarian cancer charities to discuss these results.

NHS: Reprography

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on the lease of photocopier machines in each of the last five years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Information in respect of National Health Service spending on the lease of photocopier machines is not separately collected by the Department and as such we are unable to provide this data. However, within the context of administrative costs it should be noted that we are on target to reduce the costs of bureaucracy in the NHS by a third since 2010, with savings of £1.5 billion available for re-investment in front line services every year from 2014. In this Parliament alone, at least £6.4 billion will be saved through lower administrative costs and will be available for re-investment in front line patient services.

NHS: Assets

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to dispose of the assets of the NHS no longer in use; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The National Health Service has a track record of disposing of assets that it no longer needs, particularly land and buildings. It has played a major role in contributing to the Government’s initiative to sell surplus public land with capacity for 100,000 homes by 31 March 2015, having already sold land to support more than 8,000 homes (January 2015). As well as supporting housing and economic growth, selling surplus land also delivers receipts for the NHS, which can be reinvested to support the delivery of front line services.   The Estates Return Information Collection (ERIC) system collects data annually from NHS trusts about their estate including in relation to the income from building and land sales and the land area sold. This ERIC data is collected on behalf of the Department and published on the Health and Social Care Information website at:   http://hefs.hscic.gov.uk/ERIC.asp   In addition, the NHS provides information to the Department about its plans for disposing of surplus land and buildings over the next 5 years, which is published annually at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/release-of-nhs-owned-land-for-development

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how he plans to ensure that NHS England area teams follow Monitor's guidelines on local pricing for mental health services; and if he will make a statement.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the 2014-15 national tariff deflator on out-of-area placements for mental health patients.

Norman Lamb: No assessment has been made of the impact of price adjustments within the National Tariff Payment System arrangements for 2014-15 on out of area placements in mental health services. Funding for mental health has increased by £302 million in 2014-15, a rise of 1.5% in cash terms, total mental health spending rose from £11.362 billion in 2013-14 with £11.664 billion planned in 2014-15.   Monitor and NHS England are jointly responsible for setting the National Tariff Payment System arrangements. Mental health services are paid for at locally agreed prices. Commissioners and providers should have regard for the principles and rules applied to the National Tariff Payment System including the price adjustments when agreeing local prices. However, they have the flexibility to develop alternative payment approaches where there is good reason to do so and if this is in the best interests of patients.   Most mental health services are commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups, with NHS England commissioning specialised mental health services directly through area teams. In these instances, area teams negotiate financial agreements with their local providers.   Monitor is responsible for enforcing the national tariff rules, including those on local price-setting and can take action where local financial agreements for services paid for at local prices are not transparent or fair.

NHS England

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason NHS England has not published information on payments made over £25,000 since June 2014.

Jane Ellison: During its early months NHS England was establishing data collection systems. This caused a delay in publishing the first set of data. The appropriate systems are now in place.   NHS England is working to publish the data for July to September 2014 by the end of February 2015. Data for the period October to December 2014 will follow by end of March 2015.

Health Services: Older People

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) social workers and (d) psychiatrists (i) trained or (ii) graduated with specialist skills in elderly care since 2005.

Dr Daniel Poulter: There are now 9,500 full-time equivalent (FTE) more doctors and over 6,300 FTE more nurses, midwives and health visitors working in the National Health Service than in May 2010.   The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the NHS. This mandate includes a commitment that, working with professional bodies, HEE will review the content of pre-registration nurse education and undergraduate medical education to seek to ensure all new nurses and doctors have the right skills to work with older people, with a focus on dementia.   The content and standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council, which is an independent statutory body. It has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice.   Similarly, the Nursing and Midwifery Council sets standards for nursing and midwifery education and training.   The qualifying course for social workers is generic meaning that when students graduate they are able to work in any setting. Specialisation would take place post-qualification.

HIV Infection

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department next plans to publish data derived from the HIV and AIDS reporting system (HARS); what data from HARS will be made available publicly and at what frequency; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) Reporting System (HARS) is a new, integrated reporting system for information on adults living with diagnosed HIV infection in England. It will be designated as an Official Statistic. A full data set from HARS is not yet available. HARS data relating to 2015 will be available in the summer of 2016 and published on an annual basis thereafter to inform and evaluate the public health response to HIV. The publication of the HARS data HARS data to inform commissioning will be made available to commissioners on a quarterly basis.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on price negotiations for the meningitis B vaccine.

Jane Ellison: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 January 2015 to Question 219778